Mountain Biking

The McKenzie River Trail is often described as the #1 mountain biking trail in the US. It is a stunningly beautiful, mostly downhill trail (if you start at the top), but it is an all day ride, even if you are fit. Generally ridden as a shuttle trip rather than going both ways.

The technical sections are not concentrated in one area, which makes those areas hard to bypass. Most everyone will walk some of the sections. If you aren’t willing to walk, at least scout some of them out, before you need to walk out with a broken arm. There are three main areas of technical in the upper third section of the McKenzie River Trail: east side of Clear Lake, after Sahalie Falls, and after Tamolitch Falls.

For families with children there is a great ride around Clear Lake near the crest of the Cascade Mountains. This is a well maintained trail that is mostly flat and has a few bridges or tight spots that children might want to walk but this trail is very family friendly.